Today on Inside the TOEFL Test

we're going inside the TOEFL iBT Reading section.

Specifically, the Vocabulary questions.

Vocabulary questions ask you to identify the meanings of words

and phrases as they are used in the reading passage.

It's easy to identify Vocabulary questions,

because there will be a word or phrase

highlighted in the reading passage,

and you will see questions like these,

with phrases like "closest in meaning" or "the author means."

Now let's look at a sample vocabulary question.

This one is from a reading passage about meteorite impacts.

Here's an excerpt from the passage

with the vocabulary word highlighted.

Here's the sample question,

which asks the meaning of the word "pose".

Now, there's really not much strategy

in answering these vocabulary questions.

The words that are tested are academic vocabulary

that you should know

if your English is at the level of a university student.

They are not usually words that you can guess from context.

So the best general strategy to be ready

for this type of questions is to build your vocabulary.

Keep in mind that there's a difference

between academic vocabulary and specialized vocabulary.

Academic vocabulary words

can be used across many fields of study.

These are the kind of words you'll be tested on.

Specialized vocabulary words are specific to one field.

If words like this are in a TOEFL reading passage,

they will be defined for you.

Here is a tip for increasing your vocabulary:

Many English words come from Latin or Greek.

So if you study Latin and Greek roots,

that will help you remember the meanings of words.

And it can also help you figure out the meanings of words

you may not know.

For example,

if you know that the Latin root "terra" means earth,

then when you see this sentence from the passage

that talks about the "terrestrial material"

found at the impact site,

you'll know that it's referring to the material

from the earth, not from the meteorite.

There are lots of ways to improve your English skills.

Whatever you do, keep practicing.

And good luck on your TOEFL test.